Ryder (Resisting Love #2.5)(6)

“Yes, please,” I say gratefully. I’d kill for some coffee right now.

“You gonna tell me why you call me the queen of hearts now?” I ask him after a few moments of comfortable silence.

“Nope,” he answers, popping the P.

“I’m just going to have to wait until I have something on you and blackmail you with it then,” I say smugly.

“Is that so? Well then, things just got interesting,” he says, looking amused.

“If I get Tee in on it, things will definitely get interesting,” I tease.

Ryder cringes. “Oh, come on, now, that’s playing dirty. Tee already knows more than enough to blackmail me with, but she’s family. She won’t do that to me,” he says confidently.

“True. But Tee thinks of me as her family, so what happens then?” I ask him.

“I’ll probably be free game then,” he says.

“Well then, you’re lucky I wouldn’t do that to you!” I tell him.

“I’m considering myself very lucky as of late,” Ryder flirts.

“Oh yeah? And why is that?” I ask innocently.

“Well, I happen to be living with the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on. And not only that, but she's sweet as sugar, talented and all-round amazing. The only bad thing about her is her choice of music, but I’m willing to overlook that.”

“Are you always this forward?” I ask him bluntly.

“What the point in being any other way?”

I shrug. “Some people might prefer a little bit of subtlety.”

“Are you one of those people?” he counters.

“No, I’m not,” I say with a smile.

“Good. I tell you what, how about you give me a kiss and I’ll tell you why I call you the queen of hearts?” he asks, his gaze locked on my lips.

I frown. “I don’t think your girlfriend would like that very much.” Ryder frowns at my words, too. He opens his mouth to say something, but Tee interrupts him.

“Lexi, get your butt in the shower!”she says, slapping my ass as she walks by. I shake my head at her and head to the bathroom.

*****





Chapter 5


Lexi

After checking out a few apartments and hating them all, Tee and I hit the grocery store to stock up Ryder’s house. We bought enough food to feed an army. I get some steaks, potatoes and salad to make a nice dinner tonight. Tee doesn’t cook, much to her mother’s dismay, but I’m not too bad in the kitchen.

I’m used to looking after myself. My mother was a nurse, and whenever she’d work the graveyard shift, I’d make my own dinner. We had a trusty neighbour that would check in on me, but still, I spent a lot of time alone.

Tee and I rented out a car as soon as we landed in Perth, it’s just easier that way. I suppose I should buy a car since the plan is to settle down for a while. I make a mental note to go look at some cars for sale.

We carry all the bags into Ryder’s apartment, and it takes us three trips to get them all in. We put everything away, and Tee pulls out two popsicles for each of us as we sit down on Ryder’s comfy couch.

What a tiring day.

“I’m pretty sure that last place had rats,” Tee says for the third time. I’m pretty sure it did, too. I shudder, thinking about the sound of them scattering around.

“Doesn’t matter, there are lots more places for us to check out,” I assure her with false enthusiasm. She just huffs in response.

I hate apartment hunting as much as she does, it sucks almost as much as moving. Tee and I don’t have any belongings other than what’s in our suitcase, so we're pretty much starting from scratch. Tee could always go home and pick up her stuff, but she’s avoiding going back to her parents' house which is a few hours south from here.

As for me, I pretty much gave away everything to charity before I started travelling. I still own my mother’s house, but it's currently being leased and the lease isn’t up for another year. I’d feel bad making the tenants move out last minute. So, I figured we can get an apartment for a year and then I can move into my house, and if Tee wants to, as well, she is most welcome to.

Later that evening I get dressed up and we head to Layla’s house. I wear my favourite pair of skinny jeans and a snug red V-neck top. I put on my black wedges, and pick up my black skull handbag.

“Ready, Lexi?” Tee calls out. She's dressed up in jeans as well, faded and worn, boots and a black off the shoulder top. Her long blonde hair is loose and flowing down her back.

“Yep. Let’s go.”

The car ride is typical, Tee and I singing along to awesome songs like ‘Blister in the Sun,’ by Violent Femmes and ‘Shoop’ by Salt n Pepper. We pull up to a classy looking apartment building. Tee hums her approval. We go up the elevator and knock on the door.

“Coming!” I hear a woman call out, assuming it must be Layla.

A beautiful woman with olive skin and big brown eyes opens the door. “Oh my god!” she screams out, jumping into Tee’s arms. Layla is absolutely stunning. I can see a few similarities between her and Tee, but there are lots of differences, too. Layla is wearing a long flowy red dress and no shoes. Her long hair cascades behind her, giving her an ethereal appearance.